However you watch your Fire TV Stick, you probably have the same assortment of apps as most people: Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, the list goes on. But there are some useful apps beyond the mainstream you should definitely consider using. And, because Amazon Fire TV Stick is ultimately an Android device, you can even run specialized Android apps on it to truly unlock the power of this small little streaming device.Downloader Credit: Amazon Underneath Fire TV OS lies Android, which means your Fire TV Stick is capable of running any verified Android APK. But to get there, you'll need to do two things. First, enable developer access (I have a guide on that here), then download Downloader.Downloader can help you download any app using its built-in browser. You can navigate to any trusted APK site, like APK Mirror or apps hosted on Github, to directly download APKs to your Fire TV Stick.Kodi Credit: Khamosh Pathak Kodi is an all-in-one media center, and it's immensely customizable. It's free, open source, and its library of plugins enable features like live TV and cloud syncing. You can use Kodi to stream movies and TV shows from your own home server, or use the integrated plugins to stream free content online.Kodi isn't officially available on the Amazon Appstore, but it's quite easy to install the Kodi app using the APK. I have a detailed guide on how you can use Downloader to install and setup Kodi.If Kodi seems like a lot, I recommend you look into Plex and Jellyfin. Plex is a mainstream media center. It's really well designed, but a lot of its cross-device features are behind a paywall. Jellyfin, on the other hand, is completely free and open source, and while the interface is basic, it's fast and feature rich.VLC Credit: Amazon Even though I prefer to use IINA on the Mac, VLC is an undeniable classic. VLC is a video app that will play anything you throw at it, and that's true even for VLC for Fire TV Stick. The app will stream content online, or play locally hosted media. VLC will even download subtitles, and sync them up for you.SmartTube Credit: SmartTube SmartTube is one of the few ad-free third-party YouTube clients available on Fire TV Stick. (NewPipe is a great option for Android smartphones). Like Kodi, SmartTube is not in the Amazon Appstore, so you'll have to download it using Downloader. That said, it is hosted on Github, and the app is open source, so it can be checked for security issues.SmartTube is 100% ad-free, and even integrates SponsorBlock to automatically skip over sponsored sections of videos. It supports 4K and HDR content, customizable buttons, and live chat, but the app doesn't support voice search.AirScreen Credit: Amazon AirScreen adds AirPlay to your TV, without the need to buy an expensive Apple TV. The AirScreen app can turn the Fire TV Stick into a wireless display receiver for many platforms like AirPlay, Miracast, and even Chromecast, so you can share your screen from your iPhone, Mac, or Android phone. ProtonVPNIf you're looking for a private and secure VPN app, I recommend Mullvad VPN for it's simple pricing (and the fact you don't need an account to use it). Mullvad VPN isn't on the Amazon Appstore (though you can always use Download to install the Android version). If you want a VPN designed for Fire TV Stick, I recommend Proton VPN. It has a generous free plan (no data cap, but limited to three servers, and one connection per account), and a paid upgrade if you need more, like streaming content from other countries in 4K.Tubi Credit: Amazon Tubi offers a little of everything, including movies, TV shows, and live TV. There's a huge catalog of content, with over 50,000 movies and TV shows. The upside is the app is completely free to use. The only downside is, of course, ads.If you don't mind sitting through the ads, though, it's a great way to access some free entertainment. Lifehacker sibling site PCMag loved Tubi in its full review of the service.The Roku Channel Credit: Amazon You don't need a Roku device to enjoy The Roku Channel. The Fire TV Stick version offers a vast library of free to watch movies and TV shows, even if it's not all the latest and the greatest content on the market. You also have access to live TV, live sports, kids shows, news, and more. Plus, it's actually quite easy to use as wellgiven it's a Roku app.Airy TV Credit: Amazon Airy TV is yet another free TV channels app, especially useful if you don't want to spend money on services like YouTube TV. It's completely free, and doesn't even require you to sign up for an account. Boot up the app, and you're streaming live TV. Of course, you have to sit through ads, but that's standard for apps like this. Airy TV has a good collection of channels for streaming movies, TV shows, and even live sportsincluding MMA.

Those looking to turn their iPad into a note-taking or doodling machine need look no further than the Apple Pencil Pro. The iPhone maker's flagship stylus works with the newest iPads and is on sale for close to a record-low price at the moment. Amazon has it for just $99, or $30 off its regular price. The Apple Pencil Pro is the companys latest and greatest stylus. It allows for a number of squeeze-based gestures that can be adjusted via a drop-down menu during use. It also includes a gyroscope to detect when the stylus is rolled, which makes it easier to change the orientation of shaped pen and brush tools. Of course, it supports pressure sensitivity. There's even a haptic engine to deliver vibration-based feedback when the pen is being used. And, maybe most conveniently, it works with Apple's Find My network. After all, stylus pens are small and easy to lose. All of this new tech has been squeezed into a package thats actually lighter than the second-gen Apple Pencil. The primary downside here is the price, which has been mostly alleviated by this sale. Before making a purchase, double-check to ensure that your iPad supports the Pencil Pro. It's only compatible with some of the companys latest tablets, including the 11- and 13-inch iPad Air (M2), and the 11- and 13-inch iPad Pro (M4). It also works with the newest iPad Mini. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-apple-pencil-pro-drops-to-99-at-amazon-162456343.html?src=rss

Alibaba is giving people free access to its generative artificial intelligence models that can produce highly realistic videos and images from both text and image input. The company has announced that four variants of its Wan 2.1 series, the latest version of its generative AI technology, are now open source and can be downloaded and modified by users. Researchers, academics and commercial entities can all get them from Alibaba Cloud's ModelScope and Hugging Face platforms, both of which give people access to open-source AI models. As Reuters said, the models Alibaba has open sourced are called T2V-1.3B, T2V-14B, I2V-14B-720P and I2V-14B-480P, with the 14B indicating that the model can accept 14 billion parameters.Last month, Chinese company DeepSeek made its R1 reasoning model free to download and use, creating a clamor for more open-source AI technologies. DeepSeek even expanded its commitment to the open-source community and is in the process of releasing five code repositories behind its service.Alibaba was one of the companies that joined the fray to develop generative AI tech following the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT two years ago. Just recently, Alibaba Group's Chairman, Joe Tsai, said that the company's generative AI technology will power artificial intelligence features for iPhones meant for sale in the Chinese market. Apple couldn't use the same AI tech for phones released in China due to strict regulations surrounding AI products, so it has to look for local partners, Alibaba being one of them. Big News from @alibaba_cloud! Meet WanX - our next-gen AI model redefining video generation ! Presenting mind-blowing demos from WanX 2.1 Even more exciting:WanX 2.1 will be OPEN-SOURCE !Coming soon #AIart #OpenSource pic.twitter.com/R1laOyJYAL Wan (@Alibaba_Wan) February 20, 2025 This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/alibaba-offers-free-access-to-its-ai-model-that-can-generate-realistic-video-and-images-133045633.html?src=rss

Double delight: Sony unveils the FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS and FE 16mm F1.8 G lenses for its full-frame mirrorless cameras.

Surreal new Nicole Kidman thriller Holland gets first trailer and release date on Prime Video.

A new federal lawsuit in Maryland is challenging a Trump administration memo giving the nations schools and universities two weeks to eliminate race-based practices of any kind or risk losing their federal money.The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the American Federation of Teachers union and the American Sociological Association, says the Education Departments February 14 memo violates the First and Fifth Amendments. Forcing schools to teach only the views supported by the federal government amounts to a violation of free speech, the organizations say, and the directive is so vague that schools dont know what practices cross the line.This letter radically upends and re-writes otherwise well-established jurisprudence, the lawsuit said. No federal law prevents teaching about race and race-related topics, and the Supreme Court has not banned efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in education.The memo, formally known as a Dear Colleague Letter, orders schools and universities to stop any practice that treats people differently because of their race, giving a deadline of this Friday. As a justification, it cites a Supreme Court decision banning the use of race in college admissions, saying the ruling applies more broadly to all federally funded education.President Donald Trumps administration is aiming to end what the memo described as widespread discrimination in education, often against white and Asian American students.At stake is a sweeping expansion of the Supreme Court ruling, which focused on college admissions policies that considered race as a factor when admitting students. In the February 14 memo, the Education Department said it interprets the ruling to apply to admissions, hiring, financial aid, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic and campus life.The lawsuit says the Education Department is applying the Supreme Court decision too broadly and overstepping the agencys authority. It takes issue with a line in the memo condemning teaching about systemic and structural racism.It is not clear how a school could teach a fulsome U.S. History course without teaching about slavery, the Missouri Compromise, the Emancipation Proclamation, the forced relocation of Native American tribes, and other lessons that might run afoul of the letter, the lawsuit said.The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In the memo, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, had said schools and colleges diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have been smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline.But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal, Trainor wrote in the memo.The lawsuit argues the Dear Colleague Letter is so broad that it appears to forbid voluntary student groups based on race or background, including Black student unions or Irish-American heritage groups. The memo also appears to ban college admissions practices that werent outlawed in the Supreme Court decision, including recruiting efforts to attract students of all races, the lawsuit said.It asks the court to stop the department from enforcing the memo and strike it down.The American Federation of Teachers is one of the nations largest teachers unions. The sociological association is a group of about 9,000 college students, scholars and teachers. Both groups say their members teach lessons and supervise student organizations that could jeopardize their schools federal money under the memo.The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Collin Binkley, AP Education Writer

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that a worrying mystery illness is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The unknown disease has so far sickened hundreds and killed dozens since reports of it first emerged in early January. Heres what to know about the outbreaks so far.What is the disease?At this time, health officials do not know what the disease is. In the WHOs weekly bulletin for the February 1016 period, the agency says the unknown disease poses a significant public health threat.The disease is currently active in two regional clusters, according to the report, and worryingly, of those who have died from it, nearly half of the deaths happened within just 48 hours of symptoms emerging.The first regional cluster where the disease made itself known is in the Boloko Village, in the Bolomba Health Zone region of the DRC. In that village, three children reportedly died from the disease between January 1013.Then in early February, the disease reportedly spread to its second regional cluster in Bomate Village, Basankusu Health Zone, located in the northwest of the DRC. Initially, there were 20 reported deaths from the disease there between January 30 and February 9.As Reuters reports, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told a briefing on Tuesday that The outbreaks, which have seen cases rise rapidly within days, pose a significant public health threat. The exact cause remains unknown.How many people have died or become sick?Unfortunately, health authorities now say that both the number of cases and the number of deaths have risen sharply since the first initial reports came in for both outbreak clusters.WHO says that as of February 15, a total of 431 people have become sick across both clusters. In total, there have been 53 known deaths from the illness. That represents a case fatality rate (CFR) of 12.2%.When breaking down the illnesses and deaths by regional clusters, 12 cases and eight deaths have occurred in the Bolomba Health Zone, where the disease was first reported. That means that in that single zone, the disease has a case fatality rate of 66.7%.But it is the second cluster, in the Basankusu Health Zone, where the majority of cases and deaths have occurred. In the Basankusu Health Zone, there have been 419 cases with 45 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 10.7%.How far has the disease spread?As of the WHOs bulletin, the unknown disease has only been reported in the Bolomba Health Zone and Basankusu Health Zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two areas are relatively close to each other and are located in the northwestern portion of the country.Currently, the disease is not reported to have spread to any other areas of the DRC or neighboring countriesHow does the disease spread?It is currently unknown how the disease spreads.Health authorities have reported that trace-back data shows the outbreak is thought to have first happened in the Bolomba Health Zone. Multiple children became sick with the disease. According to WHO, Reports indicate that the children had consumed a bat carcass prior to onset of signs and symptom.This suggests that the disease may be spread by the consumption of animals that are harboring it, but this is not a certainty. It is unknown if researchers have discovered a direct link between bat consumption and the outbreak of the disease.Diseases can also have multiple routes of transmission.What are the symptoms of the disease?The WHOs bulletin states that the children who first came down with symptoms after eating the bat suffered from the following:feverheadachediarrheafatigueThose symptoms later transitioned into:subconjunctival hemorrhageepistaxishematemesisHowever, the range of symptoms across all cases is more broad. Health authorities say infected persons may produce a number of symptoms, including:feverchillsheadachemyalgiabody achessweatingrhinorrheaneck stiffnesscoughvomitingdiarrheaabdominal crampsCould this be the start of another pandemic?It is much too early to say whether the mystery illness that has broken out in the DRC could be the beginning of the next pandemic. Health authorities simply know too little about the disease and how it spreads at this time.However, its worth noting that in December, there were reports of another mystery illness in the DRC, and that disease was later found out to be severe malaria, reported Reuters.In other words, just because the disease is a mystery right now, doesnt mean its not simply an existing illness that health officials have previously identified.However, WHO does say that tests have ruled out other diseases, including Ebola and Marburg. The exclusion of these diseases raises concerns about a severe infectious or toxic agent being behind the as-of-yet-unknown disease.Other possibilities for the mystery disease include malaria, viral hemorrhagicfever, food or water poisoning, typhoid fever, and meningitis, according to WHO.Or it could turn out to be something totally new. For now, health authorities simply need more time to determine what it is.

Japanese manufacturer Sigma's new mirrorless BF camera is freaking unibody. It is machined out of a single block of aluminum, and the milling process reportedly takes seven hours. Why? Does this make the camera take better pictures? Is it easier to use? No. About the only tangible UX benefit is that the camera is lightweight, at 15.7 oz with the battery; the competing Canon EOS R3 and Nikon Z9 weigh more than double and triple that, respectively. The interface has been minimalized, with just three buttons, one dial, the trigger and the power button. The BF may give heavy shooters storage anxiety; the camera features no SD card slot. Instead there's 230GB of internal memory, which the company says can store "more than 14,000 JPEG files, 4,300 uncompressed RAW images or 2.5 hours of video at the highest-quality setting." Transferring is done via a USB-C port. The 24MP camera will launch in April, and will reportedly retail for two grand.

In the world of audio, minimalism goes beyond aesthetics its about elegance, efficiency, and a deeper appreciation for sound. Minimalist audio devices cater to those who crave simplicity without compromising on quality, offering an authentic connection to music and sound. We have curated a collection of the top 5 minimalist audio designs every audiophile will want to incorporate into their lifestyle.Minimalist audio designs are about eliminating complexity, focusing on what truly mattersthe music. These five products each bring something unique to the table, from integrating visual art with audio playback to utilizing sleek design elements for a superior listening experience. Whether youre drawn to innovative smart speakers or nostalgia-infused CD players, these designs strike a perfect balance between form, function, and innovation.1. OrionThe Orion reimagines the look and feel of traditional CD players, bringing them into the modern age with an elegant touch. Shaped like a sleek, flat metal box with a powder-coated finish, this design possesses an industrial charm. The minimalist allure is enhanced by the lack of conventional components such as visible trays or buttons.A thin slot at the front allows you to insert CDs smoothly, complemented by a large, discrete eject button and an IR receiver. This CD player makes a statement even when not in use, thanks to the parametric perforations across its top surface, which add a touch of character to this pristine design. The minimal design seamlessly integrates into contemporary living spaces, offering a sophisticated audio experience.What we likeThe minimalist design matches modern home decor, doubling as a decorative piece.Streamlined slot-loading system simplifies the CD-playing process.What we dislikeMinimal exterior controls may limit quick adjustments or operations.Requires connection to external speakers for audio playback.2. Portable CD Cover PlayerThe Portable CD Cover Player allows audiophiles to enjoy music while appreciating the artistry of classic album covers. This device isnt just about playing CDs; it combines visual and auditory experiences by displaying album art in a front pocket. Integrated into a minimalist design, the player includes a built-in speaker and a rechargeable battery, enabling on-the-go listening while showcasing your favorite album covers as decorative wall pieces.The Portable CD Player caters to those who value both aesthetics and functionality, making it possible for music lovers to take their collection wherever they go or to maintain a stationary display that amplifies interior decor. It perfectly embodies minimal design, allowing appreciators of minimal design to add this to their living space.Click Here to Buy Now: $199.00What we likeCombines audio playback with album art display, enhancing visual and auditory appeal.Built-in battery and speaker allow for mobility and convenient usage anywhere.What we dislikeIntegrated speakers may offer basic sound quality, lacking depth.Requires physical CDs, less convenient than digital music formats.3. Shell Intelligent SpeakerInspired by the geometric beauty of seashells, the Shell Intelligent Speaker marries natural forms with advanced audio technology to redefine the smart speaker genre. It features a unique, rounded structure that conjures the essence of the ocean, paired with a dot matrix design that optimizes acoustic performance.This speaker isnt just about aesthetics; it combines functionality with artistry. The curved screen offers a clear interface for music, video, and essential information, while voice-activated controls allow you to interact with the speaker hands-free. The Shell Intelligent Speaker is engineered to enhance lifestyle and ambiance, becoming a centerpiece in any room with a minimalist yet captivating presence.What we likeThe shell-inspired shape is both visually intriguing and functional.Voice control capabilities enhance usability without needing a physical interface.What we dislikeBigger than typical smart speakers, requiring more space.Designed for home use, not ideal for on-the-go scenarios.4. CD Jacket PlayerThe CD Jacket Player transforms the ordinary experience of listening to music from CDs into a visually appealing journey through time. Designed to integrate seamlessly into various living spaces, this player brings the album art to the forefront by framing it elegantlyan homage to the artistic component of music production.The CD Jacket Player isnt just for show, it incorporates the latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology, allowing you to easily connect wirelessly to modern speakers and headphones, thereby bridging the gap between analog and digital realms. Its mobility adds versatility, whether its adorning your wall as a quiet monument to your musical interests or accompanying you on spontaneous trips outside the home.Click Here to Buy Now: $159.00What we likeAesthetic combination of album art and functional audio player.Bluetooth capability expands audio output options.What we dislikeDesigned primarily for CD media, not compatible with digital formats.Requires regular charging for optimal portability use.5. Battery-free Amplifying iSpeakersExplore a future of sustainable listening with the Battery-Free Amplifying iSpeaker a minimalist audio design that offers a novel auditory experience without any power requirements. Crafted from resilient Duralumin metalthe same material trusted in aircraft constructionthis speaker uniquely amplifies sound from your smartphone using natural acoustics.The design employs the golden ratio to achieve both perfect form and function, fitting effortlessly into any setting without adding clutter. Its portable nature is ideal for spontaneous adventures or simply for those who value simplicity and elegance. It is a guilt-free way to enjoy quality sound, embracing environmental friendliness.Click Here to Buy Now: $179.00What we likeOperates without power or batteries, promoting sustainable use.Small, lightweight design allows use virtually anywhere and adds style to any setting.What we dislikeSound quality depends entirely on smartphone audio output.Limited by phone placement and not suitable for standalone audio playback.The post Top 5 Minimalist Audio Designs Audiophiles Need For An Elegant Listening Experience first appeared on Yanko Design.